The “Big” Issue: Why Mismanagement Is The Cause Of Concern For TNA

People are wondering; What is wrong with TNA, the company that brought us the Ultimate X match and the famous King of the Mountain match and other great moments? Well, is not the talent, I’ll tell you that. But the problem lies within the front office and one person in particular deserves the majority to blame. And that individual in none other than John “Big” Gaburick, Executive Vice President of Creative and Television.

In a statement with TNA’s website on regards to the recent departures of longtime stalwarts Eric Young and Bobby Roode, Gaburick has this to say;

“Bobby and Eric are true professionals. We salute them for the 12 years they gave TNA. With a Superstar roster including EC3, James Storm, Drew Galloway, Jeff and Matt Hardy, ‘The Destroyer’ Bobby Lashley, Gail Kim, The Wolves, Maria Kanellis-Bennett and ‘The Miracle’ Mike Bennett we couldn’t be more excited about showcasing the finest wrestling in the world for the IMPACT fans.”

While Gaburick is excited about the future of TNA, we have to be reminded of another company from another time that tried that approach but failed to get the results. In the new millennium, WCW faced the same problem TNA recently had got years, but with the mismanagement from WCW’s front office led to it’s ultimate demise in 2001. AJ Styles leaving at the end of 2013 was the beginning of the upper management making bad moves. It is criminal for TNA to let AJ Styles get away; but while TNA struggled, AJ thrived outside of TNA.

One constant issue that I have with TNA is that they are not being original and taking some of WWE’s ideas. While that might piss off some TNA fans that go way back, the company is failing to find that originality that got them there in the first place. TNA went from being the original alternative to WWE to becoming nothing more than a poor man’s version of the most established company.

When Gaburick couldn’t keep the core guys of his Roster and departures are happening left and right, something is very wrong. Gaburick is TNA’s version of Jerry Krause, the guy who built the Chicago Bulls championship tend of the 1990s and then destroying it to bring in new faces with bad results. With the departure of AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Kurt Angle and more importantly Bobby Roode and Eric Young, TNA has hit the reset button over and over again and it is disappointing to see them in the state that they are in. TNA has a paper thin roster, although I understand the decision of letting Roode and Young walk away. I’ll say this; this company can’t manage with the roster they have right now. The best idea is to find some investors to help out with the brand, because this company won’t last another year with poor decision making from Gaburick. Another way to save TNA the grief is to bring in a guy who has experience in talent relations. If they want to rebuild the right way, a talent relations guy will help TNA get out of the mess that they’re in.

While re-branding an building the company around fresh faces is a good idea for the short-term, it’s not gonna help them out in the long haul. While some would say that the recent departures is a smart move, I disagree. When their originals left the company and they decided to bring in past wrestling talent from big name companies, it’s becoming WCW all over again. They should cleanse the roster from anyone who has been in WWE and go strictly with independent talent to be competitive. They also need new writers to bring top notch talent and not copy storyline ideas from WWE. TNA needs be original. They will bounce back, but it will take some time.

While the new era in TNA is just beginning, you gotta wonder how long this company will last if they keep hitting the reset button over and over again. One more tap of the button and the whole thing won’t work.

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